People always ask me the same thing when I say I took the summer off with the kids: “What was your favorite thing you did?” I’m always kind of stumped.

It’s not that we didn’t do a lot of fun things this summer. In fact, to refresh my memory, I read all 39 posts. Some of our best days were spent riding water slides, visiting with old friends, hanging with family, helping the homeless, and of course, being beach bums.

Culture

Hmm… what if the kids could get a job that financed their own ice cream habit?

We’re the three best friends that anyone could ever have…

Anyone else feel like a badass when they do simple things with a wrench?

So…close…

These are our cool faces.

We had a ton of guest stars, old and new, that helped make the summer extra fun.

Next stop: half heart necklaces that say “BE FRIE” and “ST NDS”

Not pictured: Jack, posing ten feet to the left (“I’m in the shot!”)

Une bonne journée, Lindsay.

That’s our corn stalk in the foreground. #ambitious

Spaghetti and quesadillas, you know, regular picnic food

And how could I forget, we got a new team member!

But I think my favorite part was just being a team with Hazy and Georgie and really getting to know the people they are at ages eight and five. The thing about these “one summer(s) at home” is that for 3/4 of the year I’m a working mom and for this 1/4, I’m a stay-at-home one. And I hate to admit it, but I gain a much deeper bond with my kids during my time at home. We have our soundtrack (it includes Carly Rae Jepsen and lots of John Williams), our inside jokes (we always sing-yell, “That’s how she feels!” instead of “I love cheap thrills!” because that’s how George sings it), and our routines down pat (coerce George to put on pants, pack beach bag, sunscreen everything in sight). And while they definitely did more than their fair share of whining (what’s a fair share, btw, one minute per kid?), they also made me laugh, helped me feel like a kid, and made me feel incredibly loved every day. They treat me like a rock star and so I feel like one around them, and I am eternally grateful that I have this time with them.

Here’s how the no napping thing is going.

This is my “and then the wheels came off” face.

Here’s how we felt about me giving the “you owe me a dollar for every breakable thing you touch in this store” speech again.

These poor kids can’t eat a GD popsicle without me making them take a selfie. Whatever, guess who buys them those popsicles?

Let’s touch the LEGO giraffe’s LEGO groin!

I mean, what team’s better than this one?

For George’s kindergarten class, his teacher had us fill out a family info form. One question was, “What’s something you want us to know about your child?”. The day after I turned it in, she asked me, “Where you the one who said you would legit hang out with your kid if he wasn’t your son?” Hell yeah I was. He’s hilarious and fun. Same goes for Hazy. She’s the Edina to my Patsy, I’d go insane without her. I miss our time together already, turds, and I’ll cherish it forever.

Going through One Summer At Home withdrawal? Try the Designer Impostors version. If you liked One Summer At Home, you’ll like Letters Lists. And if you don’t, well, I’ll probably write a letter to you.